November 15, 2016

I regret that I’m getting later and later with these monthly reviews, but at least I am getting them out. This blog has regrettably been a little neglected, and perhaps that is reflective of me neglecting myself and my health.

September was rough, and it’s word of the month was NECESSARY. If I had to pick one word for October, it would be RELIEF! Not because anything went particularly well, but because nothing went too awfully wrong.

Continuing this feature I started in January here’s this month’s monthly summary at a glance:

October 2016 at a glance

Starting

Current

Change

To Go

Weight (lbs.)

216.2

220.4

+4.2

Fat (lbs.)

67.9

68.1

+1

33.1

Goal

This Month

Annual Average

Hours Sleep

8.00

7.48

7.30

Starting

Current

Change

To Go

PMP PDUs

54

54

0

1

This Month

Year to Date

Running KM’s

61 km

691 km

Why was this month a relief? First and foremost because I successfully paced at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-marathon! I came in seconds before my 2:45 pacer time. Given how lousy my health, fitness, and training have been, I’m relieved I finished at all and didn’t fail those who were relying on me to pace them. I will post a race report soon.

The 2:45 Pacer at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon. Thank you Mark Young for the photo!

Shortly after the race, I got sick, again, like September. Not as long this time, but I did actually stay home from work for two days. That’s two days more than I did when I had the flu in September. I suppose it is my own fault. It was raining during the half-marathon, and that certainly could have contributed. I also got a flu shot the day after the half-marathon. Considering what distance running does to the typical immune system, that was probably a very bad idea. I guess I gut what I deserved.

It was an unseasonably warm month of October, and made for some nice runs.

Urban trail in October

And the fall colours were pretty too

Fall colours 2016

Overall, October was a lean month for me in terms of finances, but not lean in terms of food. Sharise and I celebrated our one year anniversary by going back to the restaurant of our first date, Sul Irmaos in Brampton. There was an event called “Taste of Brampton” going on which is kind of like Toronto’s Summerlicious/Winterlicious.

Appetizer: Deep fried maccaroni and cheese balls with bacon

Entree: various kinds of meat

Dessert: Deep fried apples

Best treat of all: My beautiful fiancee. Happy Anniversary love!

QUANTITATIVE GOALS:

Goal: Reduce Body Fat to 35 pounds by the end of 2016Status: Wow… epic fail.

Date

Weight (pounds)

Body Fat %

Body Fat (pounds)

December 31, 2015

194.4

24.9%

48.4

February 2, 2016

194.0

26.9%

47.9

March 1, 2016

193.8

24.4%

46.9

March 28, 2016

198.4

25.5%

50.6

April 26, 2016

200.0

25.8%

51.6

May 31, 2016

202.4

26.8%

54.2

June 27, 2016

207.4

27.9%

57.8

July 26, 2016

208.6

30.3%

63.2

August 30, 2016

213.8

30.7%

65.6

September 27, 2016

215.4

32.2%

67.9

November 1, 2016

220.4

30.9%

68.1

So, weight has surpassed 220 pounds. It’s like my goal went in reverse.

The weight gain has now manifest itself physically in a number of ways:

My thighs are now so thick that they rub together a lot when I run, and even when I walk sometimes. This was very evident with my serious chafing between my caused by running the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-marathon in October

I have several pairs of pants I can’t close the front button on anymore

I’m not sure if it’s related, but my feet hurt sometimes

I don’t think I look as fit or attractive anymore; I don’t necessarily like who I see in the mirror

Photo take of me during a lunchtime function at work. I don’t like how I look.

The above picture was taken of me during a pot-luck event at work. I look fat. And I’m even holding a plate of pizza. Maybe I’ll consider this my “before” photo. 220 pounds, stressed, unhappy.

But, I’d like to think this is the worst point: I’m taking tangible steps in November to turn this around:

I’m tracking my food with myfitnesspal again. Just the act of recording what I eat should help me be more disciplined. It should also help me see where I can trim some calories, and load up on others, particularly the protein-heavy ones

After a couple bouts of illness in recent months, I’m back to a routine of training at the gym with my personal trainer 3 days a week.

I’m joining a half-marathon clinic. I’m not “coming out of retirement“, again. I’m joining as a student. This summer I was rather lacklustre about getting out to runs, and I think I missed the social aspect of it. This will be a motivation to keep running through the challenging fall and winter season. The nominal goal is the Chilly Half-Marathon, but really, I just want to look good on my Wedding Day.

What I really need to do is just stop eating. Maybe I’m doing emotional eating.

Goal: My average hours of sleep will be at least 8 hours per night in 2016Status: Average 7.48… Better than last month

Nightly hours of sleep October 2016

It’s better than the month before. I got a big boost in hours of sleep when I was sick shortly after the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon.

It seems the trick to sleeping 8 hours is planning to sleep for 9. But there are so many little things I want to do. And in those last moments before falling asleep, I get easily distracted by my phone.

With less than 2 months in the year, I would have to sleep almost 13 hours a night to get to 8 hours a night average. That’s notgoing to happen; just my workday and commute are 10 hours of the day! Should I even bother trying to get to that elusive 8 hours a night? Maybe… maybe it’s early enough to get a head start on 2017!

Goal: I will earn at least 6.5 more PMP PDU’s by the end of 2016Status: +0!

This month went by as a blur and I just didn’t have time to do that last PDU I need. I’ll get it before the end of the year though I’m sure.

QUALITATIVE GOALS:

Goal: Save Money
October was an interesting month for this goal. September was a shock to my economic system, with the down payment on my new car, wedding deposits, and the looming specter of a future mortgage.

Perhaps appropriately for a month with Halloween, it spooked me into keeping my wallet closed, and being very guarded of my credit cards. I was able to look at a lot of discretionary expenses, resist desire, and make those little daily sacrifices necessary to save.

I think being so disciplined for a month has taught me to be even more careful with my spending. I was pretty frugal before, but I feel even more comfortable, motivated, and empowered to say no to consumerism. Before, I felt pangs of pain making sacrifices to reduce discretionary spending. Now, I see each dollar saved as dollars earned for the future.

I just started reading a book by David Chilton entited “The Wealthy Barber Returns.” Chilton rose to fame with his first book, “The Wealthy Barber” and he has also famously appeared on CBC’s Dragon’s Den. Both of his books deal with finances. I have only started it, but so far I have found it witty, honest, blunt, and quite helpful.

The part that has stuck with me most so far is one little equation: H = QC + S
Where S is the savings after tax and spending. Chilton says to look at “S” as Salvation, for retirement, or emergencies or big expenses. That makes sacrifices to save feel a little more important.

NEXT STEPS

I guess the relief is that the lousy summer season, and maybe whole year of 2016 will come to an end. I definitely need to regroup and figure out some life changes.

4 Comments »

This is not an easy time of year to keep health goals.
I managed to find some long lost weight in the last few weeks myself.
At some point I’ve got to put a foot down, my battle with cholesterol is not one I want to be on the loosing side of.
Good luck with this month!!!